'The Money-Making Personality' by Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand at Columbia University -- part 2: The Money-Making Personality

In this radio talk, Ayn Rand identifies two types of business personality: Money-Makers (innovators and entrepreneurs who take calculated risks and succeed on free markets) and Money-Appropriators (those who become rich illegitimately, by “cutting corners” or political favoritism). Along the way she describes the qualities of the real-life money-makers such as steamship and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, steel industrialist Andrew Carnegie, automobile innovator Henry Ford and banking magnate J. P. Morgan.

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ARI offers educational experiences, based on Ayn Rand's books and ideas, to a variety of audiences, including students, educators, policymakers and lifelong learners. ARI also engages in research and advocacy efforts, applying Rand's ideas to current issues and seeking to promote her philosophical principles of reason, rational self-interest and laissez-faire capitalism. We invite you to explore how Ayn Rand viewed the world — and to consider the distinctive insights offered by ARI's experts today.

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[limitless]

I can't thank her enough ...
Some people can change the world even when they are not alive anymore
She is somebody that i admire

[INPEROSA]

"Moneymaker does not care for money as such; money to him is a mean to an end, the mean to expand is activities. Most moneymaker are indifferent to luxury and their manner of living is startlingly modest in relation to their wealth"

So true

[enlist]

Beautiful. Just beautiful. She is such an inspiration. She couldn't have imagined how much she would benefit the world – the productive, free world – after she was gone.

[PinballBob]

I am truly amazed that Ayn Rand's article was published in COSMOPOLITAN magazine. My, how times have changed !

[juujee]

4:33 -- wealth is the product of a man's intellect
5:15 -- traits of a " money appropriator"
7:10 -- " money appropriator" vs "moneymaker"
12:44 -- To a "moneymaker" work is not a painful duty, but the essence of life, and the state of being alive.
20:54 --
22:43 -- "Charlie has no interest in money other than making it"

[legendre]

An extremely important topic, as can only be articulated by Ayn Rand.

[A_friend_of_Aristotle]

I have a substantial library of Rand's audio recordings, this one is new to me. Thanks ARI!

[OWOT-rejf]

Ayn Rand maximized her amazing mind! She was correct in her predictions of our social and economic downfalls and altruism.

[starpage]

She's really a genius. Been her follower since I read the fountainhead while I was in high school and college and now. My admiration never lessen a bit. Got a complete list of her books and writings. We the Living movie is great to watch. She's top in my list of writer, John Grisham the second best. Both are Giants.

[kawaii_princess_castle]

In the framework of Reichian psychology, human beings can be divided into two fundamental types: the armored and the unarmored individual. This distinction aligns, in a way, with the contrast between Jones and Smith in Ayn Rand’s exploration of human character—not in terms of moral judgment, but as an insight into psychological conditioning and subconscious mechanisms.

The armored individual—like Smith—is someone governed by deep-seated, involuntary patterns of muscular and emotional repression. This is not a conscious fault of the person, but rather the result of unconscious, automatic defense mechanisms shaped by early conditioning, societal pressures, and internalized fears. Their capacity for spontaneity, creativity, and authentic expression is blocked, not by choice, but by a system of tensions embedded in their very physiology. Unless one gains awareness of this armor and actively works to dismantle it, these restrictions will continue to govern thoughts, emotions, and actions.

The unarmored individual—akin to Jones—is one who has either never developed this chronic muscular defense or has consciously worked to dissolve it. This individual moves through life with a direct, uninhibited engagement with reality, free from the rigid filters of subconscious defense. They do not operate out of fear, guilt, or mechanical conformity but rather through genuine self-expression and an open flow of energy.

Reich’s greatest revelation was that this division is not a matter of willpower alone—it is rooted in the body, in the way we breathe, move, and hold ourselves. The armored state is not simply an attitude but a biophysical condition that one must become conscious of in order to reverse. It is not a moral failing, nor an intellectual deficit—it is an unconscious process that must be brought into awareness and actively dismantled through deep work on both body and mind.

Thus, the task of liberation is not merely philosophical but physiological. It is not enough to think differently; one must breathe differently, move differently, feel differently. True autonomy is not just conceptual—it must be embodied.
For an armored individual, making an effort is hard because their body and mind are locked in chronic tension. This tension is not just physical; it also blocks the natural flow of energy and emotions, making everything feel like a struggle.

Since their body is rigid and unable to fully experience pleasure, they lack the inner motivation and vitality that would make effort feel rewarding. Without the natural sense of aliveness and joy, even simple tasks feel exhausting, and life becomes more about obligation than spontaneous engagement.

Reich showed that this is not a personal weakness but a result of unconscious muscular and emotional blockages. Only by releasing the armor—through deep breathing, movement, and emotional expression—can a person regain their natural energy, motivation, and sense of pleasure in life.

[shinymike]

Ayn Rand nails it again. Fascinating! Word to the Ayn Rand Institute: This video needs to have the audio track re-edited so as to filter out that annoying and distracting backround person.

[gmilitaru]

Those who do not learn the history of capitalism are condemned to lose it.

[ANascente]

Magnificent! 💖 Maybe one day we’ll have an Ayn Rand University in the real world too.

[tobiasbogner]

I love that she had to explain who Alan Greenspan is.

[omkardubey]

I can't believe to the extent this women predicted it and was right.

[tomsisson]

What Ayn Rand needed to see is that the scientist, engineer, or inventor often goes penny less because the business man or CEO often takes the invention or scientific discovery and profits from it and refuses to share any of the profits with the inventor. I have been in this situation. I know that this happens.

Tom Sisson

[kardrasa]

The world changes, but people don't really change. We are so constraint by our Biology, its frightening. The things she says were true back then and today.

[Twofiddymill]

A stunning woman..totally committed to herself and her mind. Compassionate, direct and cuts through bullshit. Fascinating.

[jaswerner]

WOW 😲😳 I read and saw a few is Fantastic 😍..in Atlas Shrugged BOTH Grandfather's of Daphne and Franconia
Railroad and mining ⛏️ company have failure in the beginning and keep on plugging away.
The Grandfather reference at 8-9 minutes in is reminiscing about persistence in Achievement of Success in Business or any other endeavor...

[tomsisson]

One lesson I got from this s that the entrepreneurial mind thinks differently than the employee mind thinks. Employee minds look at corporations and thinks “maybe someday I could sworn there and hold a job there.” The entrepreneurial mind looks at a corporation and thinks “how can I use the machinery of that corporation to expand my business.” The machinery of a corporation doesn’t mean just the assembly line machinery used to make a product, it also includes resources, land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship, and leadership.

Tom Sisson